Strength and running is all very well but England need artists

Internationals / Paul Moon / 25 July 2008 / 1 Comments

Paul Moon takes on Fergie and Mourinho and worries about the absence of English-born creative talent.

The biggest difficulty Fabio Capello has with the England team is that they are one-dimensional. He has inherited a decent team but built on running and power. There is no creativity, cohesion or belief. He must come to terms with this quickly because, at present, foreign teams know exactly what to expect when playing England .

Our lack of inventiveness and poor first touch undermines all efforts. This was so apparent after Spain won Euro 2008. They were comfortable receiving the ball with their head up, even when marked. They never resorted to kicking the ball - they passed it.

Frank Lampard is no playmaker. He is not capable of unlocking a defence with a clever pass Cesc Fabregas style. His game is based on running into space and getting on the end of things. His starting position and space in midfield has to be covered by someone else. I beg to differ with Mourinho, I am not convinced this luxury player would be suited to the ball retaining Italians.

I am a fan of Steven Gerrard, the best English midfielder, a relatively accurate passer with a powerful shot and eye for goal. His engine and desire are supreme. Thankfully he has stopped giving the ball away with irrelevant long passes. He is our best bet on the assist front without being truly imaginative.

Gareth Barry plays the patient link game (essential in any team) very well but cannot hurt the opposition. David Bentley can sling a cross over and Joe Cole is a tricky but none of the England midfield can be classed as artistic. There lies the dilemma, how can we shape and balance our midfield? Where are the gun loaders post - Beckham? Here lies the harsh reality.

For years we have missed having the midfield creativity of someone like Paul Gascoigne - the most naturally gifted player of his generation. He was no Albert Einstein but he understood football. He was a midfield maestro and truly world class.

Rooney has some similarities to Gascoigne. He has untapped potential still to emerge. He is instinctive and electrifying on and off the ball. He is one person who I would pay to watch. He should play behind the striker and stay in the opponents half - marauding.

Ferguson has damaged Rooney, stunting his growth to accommodate Ronaldo. Playing wide on the left and burning up energy chasing back nullifies him. It is a travesty. What is Ferguson thinking about?

Because of the excellent coverage on Sky I watch most matches from home but my son and I have promised to watch two exciting young England players this season - Micah Richards and Ashley Young.

Richards (20) was the youngest defender ever to be called up into the England squad. He displayed no nerves, immediately surpassed anything Gary Neville had showed and oozed pure class. He even made Shaun Wright-Phillips look like a good player.

Currently his contract with Manchester City runs to 2013. Last season he had a knee injury but in a year's time he will be desperate for European football and should move, he needs to be with a big club who play football and right back is his position.

His club will achieve nothing this year. Manchester City are [200.00] to win the Premiership this year with Betfair but they should be [1000.00]. In the UEFA Cup they are [24.0] where a lay bet is advised with an early return guaranteed. I remain to be convinced about the intentions of dodgy Chairman Thaksin Shinawatra.

Ashley Young (23) is rapidly improving. He is a genuine assist man and can score goals. He is creative, quick and enjoys isolating and running at defenders. If he works hard then anything is possible for him.

Martin O'Neill and Aston Villa will help his education (it is needed). They are in Europe this season and Young needs to be involved. Villa are currently [250.00] to win the Premiership this season with Betfair. The price reflects their realistic chance. Likewise in the UEFA Cup the Villa are trading at [26.0] with Betfair.

Comments (1)

1. paul stamp | 11 August 2008

   i agree with pablo. england have been starved of the kind of player he's talking about. the likes of lampard and cole are class footballers, gerrard standing out especially, but we have no xavi, kaka or fabrgas. these are not the 'typical england midfielder'. we have a different mentality. also,i think capello has to make gerrard feel as important for england as he his at liverpool.